Hypothesis testing framework

Hypothesis testing is a method used to determine whether a claim about a population is true or false. It starts with two opposing statements: the null hypothesis (suggesting no effect or difference) and the alternative hypothesis (suggesting an effect or difference exists). Researchers collect data and use statistical methods to calculate the likelihood of observing that data if the null hypothesis were true. If this likelihood is very low, they may reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative, suggesting that the evidence supports a significant effect or difference.